| ‘Blue Streak’ directed by Les
Mayfield (Flubber) stars Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys, Big Momma’s House) as Miles
Logan, jewellery thief. During a heist, Miles is betrayed by his thieving partner Deacon
(Peter Greene) and busted by the cops. Before he’s arrested, he hides the huge
diamond he’s just stolen in a heating vent in an unfinished building. Two years
later, Miles gets out of jail and discovers that the unfinished building has become an
LAPD station. He does the logical thing, what anyone would do in such a situation, he
poses as a detective to get inside and recover the diamond. He makes up some fake files and a badge then bluffs his way into the detectives
building. Only problem is, that while acting like a cop he begins to solve some crimes due
to his inside knowledge that comes from being an experienced criminal.
The problem with Blue Streak is that it is all
Martin. If you love him, you'll love the movie. But, if you only find him entertaining as
I do, then your enjoyment will be much less. The movie in my opinion is merely an updated
theme of ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, with the usual dumb white cops and a street smart,
one line wise cracking criminal. The film especially runs out of steam in the last half
hour with an especially contrived climax involving drug dealers, car chases, and the
Mexican border. However there a few good laughs here and there, Martin Lawrence does a
pretty good job with his material, but the film to me anyway just lacked originality.
So How Does This Transfer Hold Up??
VIDEO
The DVD presented and distributed by Columbia Tri-Star again is of the usual
excellent standard. The video is clean, natural and vibrant. It is presented anamorphically,
framed with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It is as par the course for CTS free of grain,
artifacts and other DVD nasties. Shadow detail is spot on and the transfer had a very film
like feel. It is RSDL with the layer change occurring at 68.54.
AUDIO
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is like the video transfer excellent. It
contains a very wide sound stage, with the musical score sounding very rich & full.
Bass is deep and very loud when utilized. There is a particular scene where a huge car
magnet (the ones they use at the wreckers) smashes onto the roof of a vehicle, I jumped
out of my seat such was the depth and dynamic range of the bass, cool stuff. Surround
channels maintain a cohesive sound field and add excitement to the action scenes and some
great ambience to others. Overall a decent track and it was pleasing to see it had been
recorded at the 448 Kilobits per second data rate.
EXTRAS
The DVD contains some pretty decent extras, we are presented with an animated main menu,
scene selections, theatrical trailer. A 22 minute featurette which looks at the behind the
scenes production of the movie.
Also included is a 23 minute featurette entitled
- HBO First Look: Inside & Undercover This is very similar to the first documentary
but contains abit more film shots. 3 Music videos, cast &
crew biographies and the standard Dolby Digital trailer – City.
Congrats to CTS for presenting this movie in the best possible standard in terms of video
, audio & extras quality.
Overall not a bad film on an excellent DVD. Definitely a
rental first, but for those again who have seen the film and love it, the DVD will be an
excellent choice.or: Les Mayfieldast:
Martin
| PICTURE QUALITY |
9/10 natural looking
and vibrant |
SOUND
- Quality
- 5.1 WOW Factor |
8/10 rich and full
8/10 great ambience |
| EXTRAS |
7/10 pretty decent
extras |
Review Equipment
TV: Pioneer SD-T43W1 (16:9 RPTV)
DVD: Toshiba 2109 Region Free
Receiver: Yamaha RXV995 (DD/DTS)
Speakers:-
Fronts: Polk Audio RT55
Centre: Polk Audio CS350
Rears: Polk Audio AB705's
Sub: M&K MX125
- Reviewed 15th November 2000 |
